Democritus
 Democritus | |
| Full name | Democritus |
|---|---|
| Born | ca. 460 BC Abdera, Thrace |
| Died | ca. 370 BC (Aged 90) |
| Era | Pre-Socratic philosophy |
| Region | Western Philosophy |
| School | Pre-Socratic philosophy |
| Main interests | metaphysics / mathematics /astronomy |
| Notable ideas | atomism, distant star theory |
Democritus (Greek: Δημόκριτος, Dēmokritos, "chosen of the people") (ca. 460 BC – ca. 370 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosopher born in Abdera, Thrace, Greece. He was an influential pre-Socratic philosopher and pupil of Leucippus, who formulated an atomic theory for the cosmos.His exact contributions are difficult to disentangle from his mentor Leucippus, as they are often mentioned together in texts. Their speculation on atoms, taken from Leucippus, bears a passing and partial resemblance to the nineteenth-century understanding of atomic structure that has led some to regard Democritus as more of a scientist than other Greek philosophers; nevertheless their ideas rested on very different bases. Largely ignored in ancientAthens, Democritus was nevertheless well-known to his fellow northern-born philosopher Aristotle. Plato is said to have disliked him so much that he wished all his books burned. Many consider Democritus to be the "father of modern science".
